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Cybersecurity Strategy- Do You Have One?

Do you have a security strategy? I don’t mean locks and guards, I am asking if you have a cyber security strategy. Until recently there has been no shortage of frameworks for best cybersecurity practice and more regulations than most organizations know what to do with. But even with all of that, there have been minimal requirements to have a security program and even less enforcement on the issue.

That is, until now. The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has established their Cyber Security Requirements for Financial Companies (23 NYCRR 500 ). The new DFS regulation holds an institution’s senior leadership accountable by requiring an annual compliance certificate signed by a senior officer or board member. This is the first state legislation of its kind and I am sure with all the breaches we continue to see that it will not be the last, whether or not you live in New York.

One of the big differentiators in 23 NYCRR is the requirement for covered entities to develop a Cybersecurity Program. Other regulations require risk assessments and information security policies, but I am not familiar with any that have specifically require a cybersecurity program.

You can think of your cybersecurity program as your security strategy, which is important for the same reasons a business plan, a map, or an architectural blueprint is important. Without any of these you don’t know where you are going or how you are going to get there.

I’m here to let you in on a little secret. It’s not that a security strategy is difficult to create, it’s just that you, the organizational executive has never had to create one before. Everyone you talk to about cyber keeps throwing acronyms and technical terms around that you don’t understand and that has kept you largely at arms length from this topic. Because I don’t think you should be responsible for becoming a security expert I want to break down the mystery of a security strategy so that you can see it is doable and necessary.

Policies and Procedures

It all starts with policies and procedures. You already have these for so many areas of your business, it’s a matter of adding those applicable to security and then training your employees and continuing to make them aware. ComputerWeekly reported that a recent survey conducted at Black Hat Security Conference in Las Vegas revealed that 84% of respondents whose company has suffered a cyber attack attribute it, at least in part, to human error. Policies and procedures could have helped stop a large number of those. Sometimes people just don’t know what to do and with a lack of guidance will do what they think is best.

Risk Assessment

You have to know what your risks are to know what to protect and how to protect it and you do this through a risk assessment. This is required in every best practice framework and regulation I have ever seen.

A risk assessment asks a lot of questions to identify risks, severity, and likelihood. Questions like: What sensitive data do we have, How is the data transmitted and stored? What systems are used to host the data,? How are those systems accessible inside and outside your network? Do those systems have all critical security patches applied? Who are your third parties that access your data? How well are you employees and vendors trained? Who are your adversaries?

Most of this can be assessed through interviews with the people who interact with the data or manage your systems and through automated tools like vulnerability scanners. There is also a professional service called penetration testing where ethical hackers mimic what malicious hackers would do so that you truly understand your security posture and risks from the outside and inside of your network.

Risk Management

Prioritize prioritize prioritize, this will become your new mantra. Once you have completed your risk assessment you will be left with a list of low, medium, high, and critical items to remediate and manage. That can be overwhelming and you can’t fix it all at once so don’t try; the answer is the same whether you are trying to remediate your vulnerabilities or eat an elephant – one bite at a time. It’s a matter of understanding what the highest risks are, the easiest to fix first and those that are less important or more long term to solve for. This is where your security team and security executive is there to help. If you don’t have this team or person in place to run security then you bring in a third party to help with remediation and retesting.

Food for thought – The same ComputerWorld article said “Nearly 55% of more than 130 attendees of the 2017 Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas admitted their organizations had been hit by cyber attacks.” The reason I say that is very common to hear “it won’t happen to me.” Risk management is how you help ensure that it won’t happen to you.

Continuous Monitoring

Continuous monitoring, regular control testing, and at least annual risk assessments is how you keep this going. It is not a one and done project. This becomes an operational part of your business just like keeping the lights on. Whether it’s your internal team or third party consultants that help you achieve this, it must become part of your daily culture of security.

This includes implementing and maintaining technologies that can prevent a cybersecurity event and the processes and technologies for detecting cybersecurity events, responding to events and mitigating risks, and recovery from events.

If you are still wondering “how will I accomplish all this?”, don’t worry I understand that is a real question and concern. In my next article in this series I will discuss resources with you and the how you will do this. I want to make this as simple as possible because your organization, people, and customers need to be protected from malicious individuals and from costly errors. Please note I said simple, not easy; with the right people creating the strategy is simple, but it will take time and resources along with a culture of security to make it happen.

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If you don’t want to wait for the next article email sharon@c-suiteresults.com to start discussing the resource or strategy questions you have now. Sharon provides virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO) services, consults with clients on security strategies, writes policies, and helps organizations of all sizes become and maintain secure and compliant.

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Avoiding "Death by PowerPoint"

Avoiding “Death By PowerPoint” in 3 Easy Steps   

“Death by PowerPoint…” This expression is so common that it has practically become a household phrase. PowerPoint… “the deck…” slides… no matter what you call it (or what software you actually use), you probably have a love-hate relationship with it. You understand its importance, but typically, slides are unpleasant to look at, dense and confusing, and distract the audience from whatever the speaker is saying.

But the bigger problem is that, arguably, “death by PowerPoint” is actually a two-part crime; a “murder-suicide,” so to speak. Because in the process, you are boring the audience to death, and killing your own success and reputation at the same time.

So short of abandoning visuals altogether, what’s the solution?

Here are three quick and easy suggestions for how to use slides as an enhancement tool rather than a crutch, to maximize audience engagement, and enhance your reputation as a great public speaker.

  1. Follow the “5×5 Rule”

The point of this rule is to limit the amount of information on any given slide: maximum 5 bullets per slide, with a maximum of 5 words per bullet. This gives you about 25 words per slide, but the 5×5 parameters are an average. You could just as easily have three bullets with eight words, or six bullets averaging 4 words apiece.

This forces you to include nothing but the most critical keywords in your text. So instead of seeing this:

  • As of January 1, 2018, all new vendors will be required to submit appropriate vendor pre-qualification forms before payment processing can begin

your audience would only see this:

  • 1/1/18 – Vendor pre-qualification forms required.

Your original bullet with all of its explanation is what you can use as your talking points. The audience gets the gist from what they briefly scan, then they turn to you for additional information, making you “the expert” rather than just “the soundtrack.”

  1. Sometimes MORE slides ARE better

There’s a commonly-held belief that it’s best to limit the number of slides in your deck. If your slides all look like a page out of the New York Times, then yes, please have the minimal courtesy of having as few of these as possible. But that’s setting the bar really low.

Instead, think of it this way: Rather than have one slide with five bullets on it, requiring you to spend 10 minutes on that single slide, consider giving each point its own slide. Address the single point on each slide using the same minute or two you otherwise would have, and then click to the next slide, and the next.

Doing it this way has two key benefits: First, the frequent slide changes add visual interest and help to maintain people’s attention. Second, the audience is only focusing on the exact point you’re discussing; nothing more, nothing less. That helps them focus their attention and process your message more easily, while also significantly increasing your opportunity to connect with them.

  1. Use a “visual bullseye” 

Sometimes you have to show something that is visually complicated like a spreadsheet, decision tree or process diagram. In these situations try highlighting whatever component you are talking about, letting a yellow arrow pop up and point to it, or a red circle surround it. This draws people’s attention directly to it like a bullseye, and temporarily ignore everything else that surrounds it. Then the arrow or circle can move around the slide with you as you address different components.

Remember that your core job as presenter is to make it as easy as possible for the audience to just “get it.” These simple tips are an easy way to ensure that the audience gets the fullest value from the experience.

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Do you have other questions or feedback about how to present with maximum impact? If so, contact me at laura@vocalimpactproductions.com or click here to schedule a 20-minute focus call to discuss it with me personally!

 

 

 

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Best Practices Growth Management Personal Development Technology

Culture of Security

After a decade as an information security (a.k.a. cybersecurity) consultant, I had seen too many people who were just hanging in there or counting down the days till Friday. I started to take a great interest in company culture and employee engagement and I wanted to figure out how to solve this problem, especially as it related to the security professional.

Just like company culture and employee engagement can make or break an organization, as in, are employees happy to come to work and engaged or are looking for their next opportunity, the culture of security or lack thereof can make or break an organization in terms of whether they stay in business or lose everything to a hacker, security breach, or internal error.

One unpatched desktop or one phishing email is all it takes for the hacker to get started in successfully breaching an organization. How easy or difficult this is has to do with the culture of security. The intent of this article is not a scare tactic, it is purely a reminder or maybe a new way to think about the importance of having a culture of security.

There is an old Chinese proverb that I believe really says a lot about culture (of any kind), “the fish rots from the head.” If the top leaders in an organization are not serious about security or do not understand its importance, how can anyone else in the organization take it seriously?

Here are three questions you can start with to determine whether you have a culture of security, if you can answer yes you have started the process towards creating a culture of security and if you say no, well then you know where to start if you want to create this culture.

  1. Have you set and regularly communicate clear expectations that security is a priority and non-negotiable?
  2. Do you expect your executives to stop projects, even the important ones, if security is not implemented?
  3. Do your employees at all levels, know what to do in different scenarios, such as how to recognize a possible breach, attack, or error and how to report it?

I have seen projects implemented without security because the project was a high priority initiative from the C-Suite or the board. I’ve seen the business side win over the security side again and again where the security side had to compromise because the business was not going to budge. The fact that I’m even putting these two groups on sides shows that in many organizations there is no culture of security, because if there were, they would be working together to ensure that the business had what it needed while at the same time doing it in a way that is secure.

Part of a culture of security is having the best team possible, showing the organization that this is important by bringing in the best and not understaffing the department. It is also having a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) or Chief Security Officer (CSO) that reports to the CEO and not to the Chief Information Officer (CIO).  Too many organizations still have the CISO reporting to the CIO, and if the CISO does not have the same importance as the CIO, what message is that sending? Plus, if the CIO does not like what the CISO is saying because it could negatively impact a project, how easy is it to stop the security concern from going further up the chain of command?

The culture also includes a way to report security incidents or suspicions without repercussion. If someone thinks there is an insider threat, they need to have a way to communicate that for follow-up. If someone clicked on the wrong link and thinks they are the victim of a Phishing attack they need to be able to report that without fear of reprisal.

Does the CISO have the team he or she needs to offensively and defensively protect the network? How about the team outside of security; are the developers trained in secure coding and do project managers have enough information to know when to get help from security and who to talk to? Are there enough resources for the security team to do their job properly? This is an ever changing landscape and the hackers have unlimited resources while organizations do not. However, there has to be some budget for the security team to stay sharp and up on the latest trends.

Hiring great security people is a challenge because there are more security positions than qualified people right now and it is a field filled with adversity. Security professionals only get recognized when there is a problem; and that recognition is not positive. When the Security team does its job well, which means there has been no security violation or breach no one notices, it seems like “business as usual”  to everyone else. As a result, Security professionals often don’t get any praise or recognition for what they are doing well and only get the spotlight when something has gone wrong.

That is not a great frame of mind for most people to work in, and after time, after putting out fires, racing against the clock, and doing everything to protect the network, there is no recognition. Security professionals are getting burned out and they are ready to move on when they do not feel that there is a strong culture of security. That combined with the current gap in qualified professionals and number of positions available makes it even harder to maintain security for organizations.

Culture, any type of culture, starts at the top. If you are responsible at any level for the success of your organization and have not given the culture of security much thought before that’s OK, it’s not too late. And if you need help or want to discuss your specific situation or you are looking for additional resources email sharon@c-suiteresults.com.

 

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Best Practices Growth Management Personal Development

Preparing for the Unpredictable

Preparing for the Unpredictable: Tips on Crisis Management

Crisis management, in simple terms, refers to how an organization deals with disruptive, unexpected events that could potentially have a significant negative impact on the organization, its stakeholders, and the public.

No organization – start-up enterprises or long-time market leaders (think Toys “R” Us) – is immune to experiencing a crisis. With proper advance planning (because, after all, crises are usually unexpected), strong leaders are prepared to deal with the unanticipated.

There are usually three common elements to a crisis: the threat to the organization, its stakeholders and the public; the element of surprise; and the need to make decisions and take action quickly.

Successful crisis management can be implemented quickly and efficiently in three steps:

  • Risk Assessment
  • Course of Action Planning
  • Contingency Planning

The risk assessment phase begins with an analysis and prioritization of the risks that the crisis has created. The challenge here is to identify as many possible emerging risks without being overwhelmed by their potential.

Leadership needs to analyze and prioritize these risks so they can be addressed immediately or dealt with at a later date. It’s critical that leaders determine the likelihood of the risks occurring and their potential damage. With this information, leaders can prioritize risks and build them into their planning.

Next, a course of action analysis (COA) should be conducted. A COA determines what can be done to best mitigate current and minimize future risks. While it can be helpful to run “simulations” that analyze hypothetical scenarios (e.g., if ‘A’ happens, we’ll do ‘B’. If ‘C’ happens, we’ll do ‘D’), most leaders of start-ups don’t have the resources in-house to do that. Therefore the COA is often the product of staff brainstorming and discussions – which is invaluable!

The COA provides an assessment of the risks and articulates a preliminary plan for dealing with them.

The COA effort is very time intensive and must be quickly formulated. It is usually limited to two proposed courses of action and details what the most likely results will be, and what presents the greatest potential threats to the proposed courses of action.

Next, leaders must address contingency planning. It is essential to consider long and hard contingency responses should even the soundest, well-considered plan of action fail. Imagining and anticipating worst case scenarios – however unlikely they may seem – is a vital component to effective crisis management.

By rapidly accomplishing these three stages of response, the organization’s teams can be informed and engaged in the crisis management activities. This might include new training for staff as well as increased internal communication efforts.

When it comes to crisis management, there aren’t any hard and fast, silver bullet solutions. Every situation is different. What every   crisis does have in common is the leader’s need to use every resource available to quickly gather knowledge to effectively address the situation.

Leaders – whether in crisis or not – must always be learning about the organization’s operating environment and its people, which greatly helps identify potential challenges or threats. This continuous learning approach leads to greater agility and capabilities in reacting to a crisis.

Ultimately, the actions of leaders shine through in resolving any crises and mitigating the damage. A well-prepared and knowledgeable leader should have the tools available to manage a crisis rather than allowing it to spiral out of control.

Ed Brzychcy is former U.S. Army Infantry Staff-Sergeant with service across 3 combat deployments to Iraq. After his time in the military, he received his MBA from Babson College and now coaches organizational leadership and growth through his consultancy, Blue Cord Management.

 

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Best Practices Growth Management Personal Development

Don’t Judge A Book By It’s Cover

There’s an old proverb that says, “Outward appearances are not a reliable indication of true character.” In other words, you can’t – and shouldn’t – judge a book by its cover.

One of my favorite examples of this is from the movie Pretty Woman starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. This classic movie from back in the 1990’s was about a wealthy man, Edward Lewis, on a business trip in Beverly Hills who falls in love with a prostitute, Vivian Ward. Edward wants Vivian to attend some of his business functions throughout the week, so he gives her some money (as in thousands of dollars) to buy some conservative, less revealing, clothes. In her “working clothes” Vivian walks into an upscale store where the employees won’t sell her anything and asks her to leave. Dejected, she returns to the hotel. The next day, the hotel manager takes her to a different store and gets her outfitted in some beautiful clothes. As she is walking back to the hotel, dressed in one of her new outfits and carrying several bags with different Beverly Hills store logos on them, she stops back into the store that asked her to leave. She asked the salesperson if she remembers her from yesterday. She reminds her, and then comes the famous line from the movie: “Big mistake. Big. Huge! I have to go shopping now.”

I experienced something similar years ago when I was looking to buy a new car. I was just 22 years old and driving an older car that had 170,000 miles on it. I’m not exaggerating! I walked into the dealership and none of the sales people would talk to me. I knew it was the car. They saw me drive up in an old car and decided I didn’t have the money to buy a new car.

The next day I went back, but this time in my father’s car, which was quite nice. This time I was approached by numerous salespeople. I had no trouble finding a sales person who wanted to sell me a car. I shared the story with the manager of the dealership, who was quite embarrassed. As a way of apologizing, he sold me a car at a fantastic price.

In business, it can be economically dangerous to make a snap judgement based on someone’s looks, what they are wearing, the car they drive and more. The founder of Walmart, Sam Walton, used to drive a pick-up truck. He didn’t look like a man who was worth billions of dollars. How many times did he “fool” people with his unassuming looks. It wasn’t intentional. It was just who he was.

Unless they prove otherwise, customers should be treated like… customers. Don’t make the mistake of judging a book by its cover. As Vivian Ward said in Pretty Woman, “Big mistake. Big. Huge!”

Shep Hyken is a customer service expert, keynote speaker and New York Times bestselling business author. For information contact or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

 

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Best Practices Growth Management Personal Development

Customers are Always Right… Not Anymore

Customers are Always Right….Not Anymore

(You’ve created this monster. Now, what are you going to do!)

You have to admit, things are different in our world these days. We are faced with dangers we didn’t worry about a few years ago. Every day we hear about mass shootings, road rage, physical and verbal attacks or disrespecting authority. Right as we get used to these horrid occurrences, something more appalling happens, like the shooting in Las Vegas. Crimes will continue to intensify and the more they occur, we will become desensitized to them.

The behavior of our society has altered from what it was even ten years ago. People make judgments on others without knowing anything about them. Verbal attackers interpret what they think the speaker means. They translate what is spoken by their own definitions without even knowing the person, and the problem is escalating.

This judgmental behavior carries over to your business. No longer is Sally Shopper coming in for a pleasant experience looking for her treasure. Now customers are rude, demanding what they want. It doesn’t matter what you offer them, they think they deserve better. This attitude and expectation of the shopper has changed the concept: the customer is always right.

Your goal as a business owner is to serve your consumer. You want to take care of them so they will return. To make that happen, you give them special services or pricing.  The idea is to turn the customer into a repeat buyer instead of a one-time shopper.

This mentality doesn’t work today. The consumer is not the person you have catered to in the past. You are now a supplier to purchasers who have a “me” attitude, wanting to tell you what the deal will be. Although you give away the farm it won’t be good enough.

Nevertheless, you can turn this around provided you change your philosophy. It takes time and sacrifice, but in the end, your company’s sales will benefit. You have to stop the bleed by teaching your patrons how to be good customers.

Think about what has been occurring. The purchaser comes in, you show them what they need, they bicker, you give in, and when they come back they quarrel more. They know you will give in so why not. You have trained the customer what to do, consequently, they will continue. The result is a negative impact on your bottom line.

This cycle has to stop. It’s okay to give special service or pricing to a consumer the first time. Through that deal, they see they are appreciated. Make it a big deal so they understand it is exclusive to them and a one-time occurrence. Here’s the hard part. Then it’s back to business.

Whoa, whoa you say. I don’t want to lose their business. This is where we separate the men from the boys. It’s time to go into training mode. You are looking for long term. Making the first transaction an unrepeatable, good deal is a start. What’s next?

It isn’t necessary to keep selling below what you list. If you are constantly being asked for discounts then reduce your price and uphold it. You won’t need to lower the amount because it is priced right. You believe in what you sell; now teach the customer the value of your products or services.

What will happen is the client will get used to how you do business. You don’t see doctors and dentists being asked to lower their price because we know the price is fixed. We can have that too. For example, when your customer wants to purchase an item listed at $500 don’t change your $800 price any lower. If they are only willing to pay $500 then show them what they get for $500. They set their budget; we teach them what’s available at that price.

We can’t do business the way we used to; consequently, we have to change with the times. Educate your customers. The consumer has forgotten that you are there to help them find the product or service they are looking for. You are the expert of your business. Train them how to work with you. Stand by your price. Stick with your policies. If you are not willing to do that then rethink what you are doing. If you don’t believe in what you are offering how will your customers.

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How to Read Body Language to Negotiate Effectively

“The better you read body language, the better you’ll be at understanding someone’s mind.” –Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert.

 

“How To Read Body Language To Negotiate More Effectively”

When you negotiate do you know how to read body language? When you read body language, do you know what to observe?

The following are some examples of body language signs you can observe to negotiate more effectively.

  1. Forehead Wrinkles – When someone displays a wrinkled forehead (unnatural wrinkles) it’s a sign of stress. Thus, the absence of wrinkles is a sign of calm and easygoingness.
  2. Eyes (wide opened versus closed and narrow) – Wide-eyes indicate someone’s attentiveness, interest, and open-mindedness. A narrowing of the eyes signals a higher degree of focus on the subject, which is usually accompanied with a furled brow/forehead.
  3. Smile – A genuine smile is denoted by turned up corners of the lips.
  4. Hand movements – Hand movements give insight into the mental thoughts you’re experiencing at the moment the hand gestures are made. Thus, open hand gestures are usually displayed when someone is not fearful. When hand gestures become closed (i.e. kept close to the body, rubbing each other, rubbing other parts of the body), that’s more of a mental display of being guarded, anxious, and/or cautious. When you see such actions in others, take note of what might have brought about a change from open to close. In situations in which you seek to impress others, keep hand gestures more in an open mode and don’t make gestures that might be perceived as manic, indecisive, and/or not in rhythm with the words you speak. Doing so will detract subliminally from your likeability and persuasiveness.
  5. Feet – When the feet of two people engaged in a conversation are facing one another, the individuals are mentally engaged in their conversation. When one person turns a foot away, that’s usually the point at which that individual has mentally begun to disengage in the conversation and soon they’ll exit it in that direction.
  6. Touching – The degree you touch someone and where you touch them conveys a sense of familiarity. Thus, you should be mindful of what someone might perceive as too much familiarity per you touching them too much. To gain insight as to whether you’re touching too much, take note to what degree the person you’re touching flinches and/or slightly pulls away/back when you touch them. That’s a nonverbal sign that you may have overstepped a boundary. Pay very close attention to such feedback. It will be the gauge from which you’ll gain insight per how well you’re being received.
  7. Voice Inflection – Since 80% and more of your message is conveyed nonverbally, take note of how your words can possess different meanings based on the way you announce them. Thus, note the inflection and tonality you convey with them. Ending a sentence on a high note can turn a statement into a question, which could make you appear less authoritative than what you intended.

 All of the above body language and nonverbal gestures impact the perception of the words you use to represent your thoughts. Thus, the meaning of your words can be altered by the body language signals that accompany them. As such, you should be very mindful of the signals you send to make your body language work for you and not against you … and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating!

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Best Practices Entrepreneurship Human Resources Management Marketing Skills Women In Business

Does Changing Your Speech Style Sacrifice Your Identity?

This morning a client made a comment that echoed the misguided frustrations of many people I encounter, when concerns about authenticity come up. After we had identified a vocal habit that was sabotaging her ability to project authority, and worked on skills to improve it, she said:

“Well, but I guess our bad habits are a part of our identity, right?”

The answer is a very simple yes… and no.

Your bad habits are a part of your current identity, but certainly don’t have to limit or otherwise dictate the identity you can grow into if you choose to do so.

Let’s look at it another way. Your current knowledge, experience, and education make up a part of who you are today, right? But if your boss told you that you weren’t eligible for a promotion that you really wanted because you lacked Six Sigma certification, it wouldn’t occur to you to say, “Well, but that certification isn’t part of my identity. To learn those skills and employ them when needed to succeed at the job I have or want would be inauthentic.” It sounds ridiculous in that context. You’d be scanning the internet for the next time a course was available to get that line item on your resume, wouldn’t you?

Similarly, while nobody wants to have to change their eating habits, if your doctor told you that your blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol levels were off the charts and caused a serious risk to your health, you wouldn’t argue that you can’t change your eating habits because they were part of your identity. Sure, some food preferences are foods we grew up on and are linked to our family culture. But if you want your identity to be someone who plays an active role in your children’s and grandchildren’s lives, instead of someone who might not be around to play any role, active or inactive, you’ll find ways to make small lifestyle changes that don’t require you to live on salad.

In case a “Yeah, but…” is creeping its way to your lips, let me reassure you: there is no difference between getting certified in Six-Sigma, adopting healthier eating habits, and learning to speak with greater breath support or tonality, regarding the impact the change will have on your degree of choice, authenticity or identity.

Sure, you are partially a product of your environment, upbringing, etc., but identity is equally a very personal choice.

If you know that your current speech style sounds about as energized as Ben Stein’s portrayal of the economics teacher in the movie Ferris Buller’s Day Off, putting people to sleep as you run the meeting or give your presentation, you have two choices: You can shrug it off and claim, “Well, that’s just the way I talk,” essentially blaming it on your identity, and resign yourself to the fact that nobody will ever want to hear you speak. Or, you can decide that you want people to pay attention to you, to be inspired by you, and choose to take control of the situation. If you want to do the latter, to have that positive, inspiring effect on people, you’ll choose to learn how to modify your delivery in a way that appropriately captures their interest, because you want that to be part of your identity.

Let me clarify: I’m not suggesting you take acting lessons to play the part of some character who is different from you. And a learning curve is to be expected, so any new skill or knowledge may feel awkward and clunky until you get used to using it, and it becomes second nature.

That’s the real goal: that the new speech habits (or eating habits, or management techniques) ultimately become second nature, and a new part of your chosen identity that makes you feel confident in yourself and your abilities, and gets the results you want.

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Do you have trouble finding the balance between speaking in a way that feels authentic, and in a way that gets the results you want?  Or do you have other questions or feedback about this issue? If so, contact me at laura@vocalimpactproductions.com or click here to schedule a 20-minute focus call to discuss it with me personally!

 

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Best Practices Leadership Marketing Skills

30 Networking Questions to Make You Memorable

You walk into a room filled with people that is buzzing with conversations. Carefully you look around until your eyes meet a person by themselves and you smile. You walk over to them, introduce yourself, and shake their hand. Then, for many, the hard part begins. How does one have an engaging and memorable conversation with someone they just met?

For many, we tend to freeze up in these instances. Sure, you can visit about the weather or some current events, but that does not help you to understand who they are and the value they can add to your professional life or vice versa. Instead of asking the typical questions, try one of these 30 networking questions to help you get to know someone better and make the overall conversation meaningful and memorable.

30 Networking Questions

  1. What is the number one takeaway you hope to gain from this event?
  2. What did you learn from today’s speaker?
  3. How did you learn about this event?
  4. What type of connections do you hope to make today?
  5. What other events similar to this have you attended?
  6. If there is one thing I can help you with, what would that be?
  7. How can I help you succeed?
  8. What project(s) are you working on?
  9. Why did you decide to go into your field/business?
  10. What problem do you/your business solve for others?
  11. What is the biggest challenge you see happening in your industry?
  12. What is the latest news in your industry?
  13. What trends do you see in your industry?
  14. What’s the toughest part of your job?
  15. What kind of education/training do you need for your job?
  16. What is a typical day like for you?
  17. How did you come up with the idea to start your business?
  18. What book are you reading now and what is the one thing you have learned from it?
  19. What volunteer work do you do?
  20. Do you serve on any boards?
  21. What do you do for fun outside of your work?
  22. What is one interesting fact about you that may surprise me?
  23. Are you originally from this area and/or how did you end up in this city?
  24. What is the best piece of business advice you have ever received?
  25. What advice do you give to others in your industry?
  26. How do you stay motivated?
  27. What skills are essential for anyone in your industry to have?
  28. What are some of your favorite life hacks?
  29. What is the one app you can’t live without?
  30. How do you feel you or your company makes an impact?

How to Leave the Conversation

At the end of the conversation, there is always the business card exchange. Take this time to tell them how much you enjoyed visiting with them. Be sure to repeat their name as you thank them, and state one thing about them that stood out or that you enjoyed learning from talking with them. This last piece shows you actively listened and were engaged, and it will help you to remember an interesting tidbit about them the next time you are together or think of them. It will make you and the other person memorable.

I help executives create a powerful image and brand so they look and feel confident wherever they are. Contact me at sheila@imagepowerplay.com to schedule a 20-minute call to discuss how we can work together to grow your visibility through my return on image® services.

Categories
Best Practices Growth Human Resources Management Personal Development Women In Business

The Other, Other ‘B’ Word

As an advocate for gender parity and diversity, I strive to broadcast a message about the immense economic potential of advancing women in the modern workplace. Often, my content is couched as a rallying cry for more men to become allies on the journey toward gender equality. Aside from the obvious egalitarian reasons for having more women in leadership, it also makes sense from a purely business standpoint. If organizations had gender-balanced leadership teams and equally valued the contributions of both sexes, they would be better suited to adapt and thrive in a complex, volatile global economy. The advantages of diversity in business have been studied for years and are well-documented: There would be higher employee engagement, less turnover, and greater profitability.

Considering the clear benefits of diverse leadership, why are there still so few women in C-level roles today? Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, founded the Lean In non-profit organization to address this issue, and one of their campaigns is to ban the ‘B word’. No, not the one that rhymes with pitch. The other ‘B word’, bossy, is a term applied to young girls and women who are decisive, confident, and direct in the way they relate to others. It’s a pejorative used to discourage females from acting contrary to societal norms; i.e. that they should be agreeable and docile. Of course the male-driven business model encourages cutthroat competition and a commanding leadership presence, creating a Catch 22 for women who hope to be successful. If they try to fit in as one of the boys, they are perceived as aggressive and difficult. But if they are simply authentic, their kindness and cooperative nature work against them. The Ban Bossy project aims to empower women of all ages so they embrace their innate leadership qualities and are recognized as leaders in their own right. While this is an important effort in the push for gender parity, I worry that the message can be misinterpreted by some women who take it as free license to be the other, other ‘B word’: bully.

I stumbled across a YouTube video secretly recorded by a Georgia middle school janitor as he was being reprimanded by the principal for leaving work 8 minutes early. (You can watch for yourself here.) Throughout the meeting, the principal was rude, condescending, dismissive, belittling, and downright cruel. She repeatedly asked the janitor what his hours were, interrupted him as he attempted to explain the situation, and spoke to him in a manner unfit for conversation between grown adults. It was obvious from her smug demeanor that she was accustomed to using fear and menace to bend employees and students to her will. I’ve worked for and with women like this throughout my career. They either adopt this ‘dragon lady’ persona as a means of survival in a company or industry dominated by men, or it’s just their personality. This management style is unacceptable regardless of a person’s gender, but, as I mentioned before, there’s a double standard for women. They’re damned if they do act like men, and damned if they don’t.

How, then, can we ensure equal representation of women in leadership while discouraging bully behavior? Well, there are plenty of excellent books on the former, so I’ll tackle the latter because I believe bullying is an employee engagement issue, not merely a gender issue.

In my employee engagement practice, I teach managers to embrace a mindset of empathy, curiosity, and humility. Without these virtues, you are a just boss, not a leader. And you certainly won’t earn the respect or engagement of your employees if you forgo true leadership in favor of being a bully.

Empathy is our ability to relate to and feel for others. It’s what makes us human. When we empathize with people and “put ourselves in their shoes”, it causes us to think more carefully about how we behave and speak toward the the individuals in our lives. When meeting with an employee to have a potentially difficult conversation, empathy can make the difference between a mutually acceptable outcome and a result that leaves one party — invariably the lower-ranking person — feeling unheard, disrespected, mistreated, or cheated. Had the principal in the video practiced empathy by asking herself how she would want to be treated if she were the janitor, things would have gone much differently (and saved the school quite a bit of embarrassment).

While empathy means having an open heart, curiosity is keeping an open mind. Being a curious leader requires a willingness, even a desire, to hear positions other than your own. Doing so gives you an opportunity to build stronger relationships with employees. By asking them for their views, their feedback, their stories, and then listening without judgement or interruption, you are positioning yourself as a leader who wants to collaborate on solutions, instead of just bark orders. When leaders curiously listen, they are sending a message that they wish to co-create a positive and engaging employee experience. Woodrow Wilson once said, “The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people.” The principal made it clear during her meeting with the janitor that the only voice she cared to hear was her own.

Curiosity also means questioning your motives and behaviors. This takes a high degree of emotional intelligence that comes from being humble. Humility allows us to challenge the ego and make decisions that are more effective in the long run, as opposed to satisfying our own immediate need to feel important. Many people, when given power over others, tend to let it go to their heads at the expense of the relationships with those in their charge. They haughtily believe their management title grants infallibility and deity; that it somehow elevates them to a higher stratum than the peons being managed. But we are all flesh and blood. None of us is any better than the rest. What makes a leader is not her status, nor her ability to control and punish. The measure of a great leader is seen through the eyes of people whose lives are better for having followed her.

In order for us to have an impactful conversation about developing more women into leaders, we need to agree that bullying is the antithesis of effective leadership. We need to hold everyone in management positions, gender notwithstanding, to the highest standards of conduct and preserve the integrity of what it really means to be a leader. It will take a dramatic shift in the business world, one that champions the merits of empathy, curiosity, and humility. To start, those with the power to make this change will have to be another ‘B word’: brave. Courageous leaders — both men and women — must shape the modern workplace into an environment where bullies aren’t welcome, one where success doesn’t come without kindness.

About the author:

Jonathan D. Villaire is a bridge-builder, truth-teller, and advocate for empathy who helps leaders understand how to effectively engage their employees and, more importantly, how to stop disengaging them. He founded Cognize Consulting with the aim of giving supervisors, managers, and executives a new perspective on employee engagement: See employees as human beings, not as human capital. Understand how to create an employee experience that increases retention and attracts top talent. Engage employees with a leadership mindset of empathy, curiosity, and humility. He is a speaker, coach, and author of the upcoming book The Stepford Employee Fallacy: The Truth about Employee Engagement in the Modern Workplace.

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